They’re Listening, Carmelo

In the reboot of “The Conversation,” does Carmelo Anthony play a variation on the role created by the woman who also played Shirley on “Laverne and Shirley”?

Unkind conjecture aside, we’re unlikely to ever know what Kevin Garnett said to Carmelo Anthony during last week’s Boston-New York game, getting the Knicks forward so riled up he earned a one-game suspension by attempting to confront the trash-talking Celtic afterward. If the NBA’s players were more forthright with the insults they leveled at each other during such heated battles, then Twitter would probably be a lot more entertaining. But Knicks owner James Dolan is apparently a lot more interested in the type of things being said to his players on the court, which is why he allegedly directed a few MSG Network employees to openly record Anthony during Friday night’s game against the Chicago Bulls. For the record, it wasn’t exactly a reboot of “The Conversation”, as nobody could miss the dubiously groomed audio technician tasked with the duty. Still, NBA owners aren’t typically known for keeping such close guard over their employees, springing a Pandora’s Box over what could’ve been Dolan’s intentions. (No one from the MSG empire has commented on the subject.)

“Was it to luxuriate in the poetic musings of his most valuable player, even though he is far from his most voluble player? Was it a teaching tool, so his coaches could school Melo on the potential hazards of courtside misconduct?” asks the Star-Ledger’s Dave D’Alessandro, who broke the story. “Or perhaps it was done to furnish proof to the NBA that his meal ticket is now a verbal target, particularly with notorious motormouths such as Joakim Noah and Nate Robinson in town that night for a full-court yakfest? We may never find out.” There’s a business-related explanation, too: Dolan may have been perturbed that the footage of Anthony confronting Garnett was filmed by Comcast SportsNet New England and Time Warner-owned TMZ–two subsidiaries of the Cablevision boss’s corporate rivals–thus endeavoring to level the playing field and avoid another “gotcha” situation.

It’s easy, if not entirely productive, to crack wise about what Anthony might have said while being recorded. The competition didn’t seem to care, at least. The less charitable take casts Anthony as either over-sensitive or irresponsible, incapable of navigating the in-game yip-yap among NBA players without resorting to the kind of braggadocio that leads to one-game suspensions. (Amusingly enough, it was Chicago’s Nate Robinson and New York’s Steve Novak who got into it after the game.) “The initial reaction to D’Alessandro’s report from most corners—well, beyond just ‘secretly taping your star player, or anybody, for that matter, is super creepy’—has been to note that this won’t exactly do wonders for Melo’s reputation,” writes Yahoo’s Kelly Dwyer, “which was shaken a bit when Garnett’s tactics made it blatantly obvious that, MVP-caliber early-season performance aside, you can rattle Anthony and get him off his game.” As the Knicks head into Thursday’s game against the Detroit Pistons in London, they’ll need their superstar to be fully rejuvenated both physically and mentally in order to shake off a recent slump. The Celtics and the Knicks play each other in eight days, giving Dolan plenty of time to find a more discreet way to keep tabs on Garnett’s baiting.

* * *

Yes, it’s a hire that will undoubtedly inspire some sniggering amongst NFL fans and outright discomfort within the Windy City, given the number of more notable candidates for the job. Really, anyone whose most recent coaching experience wasn’t in the Canadian Football League might have been preferred over Marc Trestman, who was announced as the new head coach of the Chicago Bears before dawn. Trestman, who’s coached the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes for the last five seasons, was once a hotshot NFL assistant expected to make the leap to the top spot, but instead went north when no team came hiring. Speaking for him are former pros like Rich Gannon and Steve Young, who swear by his ability to develop quarterbacks–with a partially undeveloped one in Jay Cutler skulking about the Chicago sideline–and kick-start high-powered offenses. (Trestman’s personal website also boasts an impressive list of endorsements, though you should consider the source.)

“Living in Minnesota for the past 13 years, I can’t tell you how many people I’ve heard speak reverentially about Trestman, a native of the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park who played at the University of Minnesota,” writes ESPN’s Kevin Seifert. “Those people range from [Bud] Grant to Gannon to people Trestman went to high school with. They all believe he is a brilliant offensive strategist and quarterback guru, one whose professorial and quiet demeanor perhaps clouded the view of NFL teams who questioned his ability to command a room and lead an entire team.” On the other hand, he coached in Canada, which means the jokes will flow, unfairly or not, until the Bears shut them down with wins.

* * *

It’s perfectly reasonable if you haven’t tuned into the first Grand Slam tournament of the tennis season just yet, since the big rackets haven’t gotten too much quality playing time. Also, if you’re in the Western Hemisphere, it’s mostly happening when anyone beyond the parent of a newborn should be asleep. (Right now, they’re competing to see who can get off the court the fastest; Maria Sharapova remains in the lead. But there was a bummer of a story that came out of the Open’s early rounds, as the oft-injured American Brian Baker–whom we’ve written fondly about– was forced to retire in his second-round match against countryman Sam Querrey due to a torn meniscus. The injury, incurred on a seemingly non-stressful step following a backhand, is expected to cost him about four months.

Baker, the one-time prodigy who’d endured enough physical setbacks over his career to put his surgeon’s grandchildren through graduate school, made a resounding comeback last year to finally deliver on some of the professional promise he’d once flashed. As for 2013? “This was going to be the year Baker went from a novelty act to an established threat,” Sports Illustrated’s Courtney Nguyen writes. “With a balanced game that almost seems like a throwback — hey look, he comes to the net! — he could be a sure-fire threat for titles at the second-tier ATP tournaments.” Hopefully he’ll make a full recovery, as his absence depletes an already deficient corps of American men on the tour.Found a good column from the world of sports? Don’t keep it to yourself — write to us at dailyfixlinks@gmail.com and we’ll consider your find for inclusion in the Daily Fix. You can email Jeremy at jeremypaulgordon@gmail.com.

SPORTS, THE JOURNAL WAY

Be sure to check your Daily Fix all week long. The Fix's daily rundown of the best sportswriting on the Web is joined by features such as The Count, a look at the most revealing sports stats, as well as regular live reports of major sports events. Tell us what you think of the Fix at dailyfixlinks@gmail.com.

When Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao step into the ring on May 2, they will fight at the welterweight-class limit of 147 pounds—an odd, seemingly random number that has long held a special mystique.